After the calm…

So I made it all the way through NaBloPoMo and so I had a few days off blogging. Phew! Somehow when you don’t blog for a few days, you find it hard to remember what you did… or is that just me?!

Fortunately, I’m a photo taking addict so I can look back and jog my own amnesiac memory. (I take snaps not actual posh photos so won’t be winning any photography awards any time soon!)

As it turns out, I’ve been moderately busy this past week…

Sweet like… diabetes

I have been attempting to control my “gestational diabetes”. I put this in inverted commas as I’m still not convinced I have it. My blood glucose readings have been mainly within target which at my hospital is 5.3 for fasting (when you get up) and 7.5 one hour after meals.

I had my appointments with the diabetes nurses and the dietician. The nurses were fine and happy that I was keeping my GD under control with diet. (I went over once or twice but it was more when I tried something new.) I noted with interest that neither of them looked particularly healthy.

The dietician was super annoying. I mean, it was just a really frustrating appointment. She seemed like she really wanted me to go on medication. I said I don’t want to go on meds and I’ve been keeping my levels under control. Anyway she said my post lunch levels were “too low” (5.something to 6.something). So she wanted me to eat some bread with lunch and if it took me over the limit (7.5) they would write me a prescription for metformin!

Err why? If I can keep my levels below the magic 7.5 why should I purposely push them over and then take drugs to bring them down again? So annoying. She said it was to give me energy and said I must be feeling tired due to not having many carbs at lunch. (I usually have soup.) I was like, umm I’m 33 weeks pregnant – I think that most people are tired at this stage!

Anyway I’ve been experimenting and it appears the above breakfast (Greek yoghurt plus Jordan’s crunchy cereal) seems to work well. Soup is okay for lunch and if I add carrot sticks and hummus it brings it up a bit but within range. Dinner is usually chicken / veg based. Dullsville. I seem to be okay with hot chocolate and whipped cream so there is a saving grace!

Autumn tales

I saw this little guy on my travels and I stopped and went right up to him and he just carried on nibbling his nut! Cute!

Babies and biscuits

We did our second NCT class. Above is the part where she taught us about labour… based on biscuit sizes! (Cookies for my transatlantic buddies.) The chart part is the contractions / intensity. The red but is pre-labour and then there are a bunch of subsequent stages wherein the cervix is dilating and corresponding roughly to the size of the biscuits!

The first biscuit is an iced gem in the red phase. Then it’s a Jaffa cake, then “proper” labour begins and gets you to Wagon Wheel size! Then finally it’s (not a biscuit) Dairylea cheese wheel time and out comes the baby… The small kidney looking thing by the baby doll is a soft toy placenta! (I’ve no idea where she gets these things from!)

We are both quite enjoying NCT. It is what people say – paying for pregnant friends – but it’s kind of reassuring to realise you’re not the only ones and also that we seem to be possibly slightly more thought through than some of the couples! I’m amazed some of them don’t appear to have thought about anything including which hospital they’re going to give birth at.

Also I kind of feel like I am more relaxed about the idea of childbirth than some of the other women. It’s really odd considering I was Ms Medicate-Me when I started out, but I think some of the reading and research I have done has changed my mind.

I’m quite enjoying the hypnobirthing book I’m reading, which is a sentence I never thought I’d say! It’s not to say I’m complacent or that I’m even going to do self hypnosis (not happening) but I think that understanding the theory behind it and trying to approach birth with “calm excitement” rather than fear and expectation of pain makes a lot of sense. We shall see!!

Family dinners and Sunday roasts

On Sunday we went for a nice roast with T’s family. It was good to see his folks especially his mum who seems on good form after the shocking recent events. (See my previous posts!) Fortunately there was no need for CPR or hospitalisation…

The one thing I felt uneasy about was T’s sister… B’s aunt. She is so excited about B’s arrival and bought us tonnes of stuff for the baby shower. I guess I feel sort of worried when she is so excited and also I feel like I am already feeling defensive / putting up emotional boundaries. I really don’t have a reason to feel this way, I don’t think, but I do. Like everything about her is really full on and I am worried that her expectations are she wants to see him all the time.

For example she bought the book I wanted for B (Love You Forever, about a mother’s love for her baby) but then wrote a long gushing dedication to him in the front of the book about how she loves him and now I just feel a bit like… I don’t want to read him the book and see that every time. Which probably sounds really awful.

Also she had loads of photos on her phone of clothes she wanted to buy him. They’re all from a shop I never shop at and don’t like, and she was asking whether I liked them and I really didn’t. I don’t want her to buy all those clothes! He would look like a chav!

I feel bad for even thinking these things as I know she means well. We just are really different people and have completely different styles. I think the style thing is less of a big deal but I feel like her pushing for closeness is something I am really uncomfortable with. I don’t know why. I was really close with my ex’s sister even though we were really different.

I don’t know how to explain it other than I feel like she is massively encroaching on my space. I realise because of her situation she probably won’t have kids so B will be the most important kid in her life. But I didn’t think I would have kids either, and I just want to be able to enjoy that without her being so pushy all the time.

I guess we will just work it out as we go along…

I’m dreaming of a white (office) Christmas…

It’s even looking festive in our office! I was quite impressed when I came in on Monday and found they’d created this Christmas scene in the foyer. They also have been pumping a Christmas smell out so it smells like cinnamon and spices! Awesome!

As part of my job I have a team of guys (because they’re all guys) working for me on a client and then a bunch of client stakeholders, so I decided to host some pre-Christmas drinks and had a mini party in the office. I booked out a room and ordered in a load of drinks (fortunately on consumption pricing so if you don’t drink it they take it back!) and some nibbles too.

As it’s my first few months working with this client I was a bit worried if it would be a success. Like maybe nobody would turn up… Or the food and drinks would be awful… Or it would just be me in a big room on my own! Especially as hardly any of the clients accepted the invitation. But my guys said they usually don’t accept but turn up anyway, so I was hoping…

Anyway, the catering crew did a great job!

And to my surprise (and pleasure!), loads of people turned up! It was awesome! I was so happy!

Well, I can’t drink right now so I have to get my kicks somewhere! 3 hours of standing in heels whilst weighing about twice what I normally do and drinking water (yay gestational diabetes)… I was fairly tired by the end! But was so pleased it went well. My team told me at the end they loved it! They were so happy. (Of course maybe they were just saying that as I’m their “boss”… maybe I’m deluded?!)

I’m getting pretty tired at this stage of pregnancy. Tomorrow I’ll be 34 weeks and I’m also organising our team Christmas party (with my boss and most of them are senior to me… eek). I seem to have gotten this job by dint of being one of the only women in the team. And having an interest in event management!

I am fussy about things so I like it when I’ve organised it and then men seem happy to let me! We are doing a mixology (cocktail making) class followed by Christmas dinner (#2 after my baby shower!) followed by bar and dancing… at which point I will not-so-gracefully retire.

That’s the plan, anyway. What will actually happen is anyone’s guess. I wonder if I’ll make it through the night? I kind of feel like I need to be in hibernation as of now!

Great update! I’m so thrilled for you that the client party was a success! Brian used to plan his offices holiday party each year and he took it very seriously… And they were always great. He didn’t plan this years so we’re wondering how it will go…. They already failed to book proper music. 🙄

Thank you! I’m glad Brian understands the importance of a good office party! We hardly ever have them IN the office in the UK – we tend to go out. So it was kind of a risky move but it worked out great.

I’m waddling off to my team Christmas do now… I really would prefer to be hibernating rather than heading to soho! 😂

I don’t understand why the nutritionist would want you on meds if you’re so well controlled without them. Nor do I understand why she would want you to go over your number by adding extra carbs?? I know that it’s not good to be under by far because it’s best for you and baby to be at a somewhat level rate throughout the day, so wanting you to have a bit more carbs to up your sugars makes sense. But not to try to go over…I don’t get it! Otherwise, sounds like things are going well. You’re getting close, and I’m sure the next month will go fast with the holidays here now. Hang in there!

I actually wish I had have spent more time reading about hypnobirthing before my birth because in the end, it was something like that that got me through. The last 2.5 cms I totally surrendered to then process and was almost asleep. I didn’t even feel myself hit transition. If you can find a way to accept the pain and disassociate and surrender to the process then it will do your experience the world of good. I almost want to have a 3rd baby to see if I can do it earlier in the process lol Great the GD is responding to diet. That’s wonderful 🙂

That’s good to know! I like to think I’ll be able to be “calm and excited” (oxymoron?!) rather than screaming like a banshee but I have my doubts! I’m trying to look at it all in a positive way and think of it as a marathon. (Hurts whilst you’re doing it and you think “never again!” but worth it to sprint across the finishing line!)

Your ideas for the Christmas party sound fun, I’m sure everyone will have a great time! And you can just sneak away at some stage once you get too tired. Do you have comfortable and cute flats you could wear if standing in heels is getting too much? I love the photo of the squirrel btw, very cool! My egg retrieval is going to be on Monday by the way, fingers crossed 🙂

I managed to do the Christmas party fine as a lot of it was sitting down! ☺️ I even had a non alcoholic cocktail which was… depressing! 😂 But everyone seemed to have a good time and Christmas dinner is always good. Do you get proper Christmas dinner in Germany or is it something else?

Argh, I tried to comment on your blog again and I still can’t manage it! I think because I’m on iPhone. Grr. I’m so mad on your behalf about your manager. What a knobhead (just to bring back a British phrase for you!) – I hope you haven’t let it put you off your stride. I am wishing you lots of luck for Monday!! Do you feel like you’re about to burst? I hope it goes great! Xx

Christmas dinner in Germany is normally a bit different, my husband’s family often eat fish that day! It’s still a nice meal but just not the same as home. This year we’ll be in Ireland for Christmas though and I’m looking forward to proper turkey, stuffing and roast potatoes, yum. Plus I love mince pies which you can’t get here!
Two of my colleagues both told me they think my manager was totally out of line making me feel bad like that when I don’t need the extra stress. He’s already on his Xmas break now so luckily I won’t have to see him for awhile!
Yea, this morning I woke up super bloated and felt like I could feel my ovaries which are probably huge right now! Thanks 🙂 xx

Awww if you want I’ll send you some mince pies? We have loads! 😂 Ping me your address if you like! They’ve just opened a new M&S near me so that’s a bit lethal…!
Glad your nasty boss is off. Wishing you loads of luck for Monday! Hope you get a good haul! X

I was wondering what kind of biscuit would be 10cm!!!! Hehe. But that is pretty helpful having some kind of visualisation to understand dilation!
Aunts….well it was good she showed you the kind of clothes she was thinking of buying! Could you put a wish list together to help her?? We put one together that links to lots of websites, but then people decided to buy other stuff anyway 🙄 so maybe it won’t help 😜
Good job on the GD btw! You are doing really well! Not much longer now 😊

Yeah I never realised how OCD it can feel when people buy off list!! I think I’m just feeling weirdly sensitive to everything at the moment. Like the other thing is she found out our nickname for him, somehow, and kept calling him by the name (which we haven’t told anyone and didn’t knowingly tell her – she must have heard us say it). So I said to T that I feel like I don’t want to call him that any more. I think I just need to try and calm down and get less emotional!